Swine Flu: World Health Organization raises pandemic alert level from three to four

The WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, has raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from the current phase 3 to phase 4. Level six denotes a full-blown pandemic, Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant Director General says that the current level signaled a significant step towards pandemic influenza. He also said that since the virus has already spread to several countries other than Mexico, "..at this time, containment is not a feasible option."

Meanwhile Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova declared that the suspected death count of the swine flu epidemic is now at 149, with 20 death confirmed to have been from swine flu. More than 2000 people in Mexico are believed to have been infected.

The European Union Commissioner for Health, Markos Kyprianou, issued a statement advising Europeans to avoid nonessential travel both to Mexico and parts of the United States.